Typologies and drivers of the adoption of climate smart agricultural practices by smallholder farmers in rural Ghana
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Date
2023
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ELSEVIER.COM
Abstract
This study examined the factors that determine the adoption of CSA practices in dryland farming systems. The
study answers the following questions: (i) what are the typologies of CSA practices available to smallholder
farmers in rural Ghana?, (ii) what is the adoption rate of CSA practices among smallholder farmers? and, (iii)
what are the socioeconomic predictors of the adoption of CSA practices in rural Ghana? This paper employed
mixed-method participatory approaches including surveys of 1061 households, and 15 key informant interviews
supplemented with 2 regional stakeholder workshops. The study used a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to
examine the climate smart agriculture typologies adopted among the smallholder farmers. To investigate the
drivers of adoption, the multinomial ordered probit model was applied. The PCA results suggested that, there
were seven (7) uncorrelated dimensions involving 23 CSA practices that were generally employed – water smart
practices, energy smart practices, nutrient smart practices, carbon smart practices, weather smart practices,
planting smart practices, and knowledge smart practices. These 7 typologies explained 63.91% of the total
variance. The PCA results indicated that smallholder farmers do not necessarily rely on a single CSA practice to
cope with climate change; but utilise a combination of practices. The results of the ordered probit model suggested
that the factors driving the adoption of CSA practices are mixed nuanced on the adoption typology and
farmers' location and institutional factors. The paper contributes to an understanding of the different typologies
for CSA practices and highlights the various socioeconomic factors driving the adoption rates of CSA practices by
smallholders' farmers. This
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This article is published by elsevier.com and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2023.100223
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2023.100223